Cumming, Spencer

James Short, 1862-1942, set up a law firm with G.C. McCaul in 1897. Short and McCaul successively became Sifton, Short and Stuart (1898), Short and Stuart (1906), Short, Ross and Selwood (1908), Short, Ross, Selwood and Shaw (1913), Short, Ross, Selwood, Shaw and Mayhood (1914), Short, Ross, Shaw and Mayhood (1927), Ross and Mayhood (1944), Mayhood and Cumming (1949) and Spencer Cumming (1964). The most prominent partners other than Short were George H. Ross, 1878-1954, who was appointed to the Senate in 1948, Joseph T. Shaw, 1885-1944, who was leader of the Liberal opposition in the Alberta Legislature, 1926-1931, and L.F. Mayhood, 1882-1954, who was appointed K.C. in 1944. Spencer Cumming, 1916-1995, was one of the last three lawyers to join the Law Society of Alberta under the apprenticeship program. He joined the law firm when it was still Short, Ross, Shaw and Mayhood, and stayed with the firm until his retirement in 1986. The firm handled the estates of many prominent southern Alberta citizens. It also handled legal matters for many ranching, mining, petroleum and investment companies.